In the Galleries: Lincoln's Bedroom

The 150-year anniversary of the Gettysburg address reminds us about the lingering controversy over Lincoln's relationship with Joshua Speed. Artist Skylar Fein weighs in with an amazing re-creation.

BY Christopher Harrity

November 19 2013 4:30 PM ET

Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed

Artist Skylar Fein is engineering Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed's sleeping arrangements into a curious exhibit at the C24 Gallery in New York.

Historians have wondered about Lincoln sharing a straw-stuffed mattress with Speed in 1830s Springfield, Ill. But Fein is taking the mystique out of it by reconstructing their bedroom. The artist notes that there are no photos of their housing, and so he relied instead on photos and sketches of similar places.

The exhibit brings visitors up the stairs above the shop and to the bedroom. The faint smell of hay and tobacco lingers, and music reminiscent of the time period plays.

See what it looks like in photos of the exhibit on the following pages.

Now through December 21.514 W. 24th St., New York, NY 10011For more information about C24 Gallery please visit c24gallery.com

Skylar Fein, The Lincoln Bedroom, under construction, 2013. Photograph by Chris Berntsen. Courtesy of the artist and C24 Gallery